Road Review: Past v. Present

There’s a certain level of brawny truck that gets me going. I’m not talking about the one with 42-inch Super Swampers on a 12-inch lift, rolling coal all over the nearest Prius. I’m thinking of the bulky Ford Bronco, or a ‘77 Chevy K10, or an old Land Cruiser on African safari. I’m thinking of the trucks and SUVs meant for doing, and doing at-will.

That’s the 2016 Toyota 4Runner. The aggressive lights and strong front look like some kind of alien maw, while the various lines, cuts, and bulges give grace and presence to the predator. It’s one of my favorite designs this year. This model brought a 4.0-liter V6 pumping 270 horsepower and 278-pound-feet of torque and combined it with a four-wheel drive, locking rear differential, multi-terrain selections, hill-start assist, and a Crawl Control system for off-road conditions.

Meanwhile, the challenger, the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder matches the 4Runner by offering hill-start and -descent assistance and the ability to tow up to 5,000 pounds. Its 260 ponies and 240-pound-feet of torque from a 3.5-liter V6 will still get you where you need to go, but it does so with a pinky in the air.

This is a classic example of two routes to the same destination, but I wasn’t completely pleased with either. The 4Runner doesn’t really fit anywhere, and the Pathfinder doesn’t exactly stand out.

So let’s talk about that.

4Runner

Using AAA Colorado’s personal car-buying service, AutoSource, I arranged a test drive of the 2016 Toyota 4Runner. The first thing that struck me was its size. Though it’s only around an inch-and-a-half higher than the Pathfinder, the Toyota just feels larger, and the sense of hauling yourself into the cockpit with the aid of rigid running boards only increases the impression.

Inside, the chunky-knob design reminds me of an expensive stove, and the customary entertainment station features a 6.1-inch high-resolution screen with Toyota’s EnTune Premium Audio suite of apps, as well as a back-up camera and audio options for Bluetooth, USB, satellite radio and an aux input. Undergoing my homemade navigation test, the 4Runner’s software was still contemplating loading the address template by the time my phone was ready to begin turn-by-turn directions.

Start rolling around in it and you understand why Car and Driver called this year’s 4Runner “a living fossil.” It moves like a truck—steady, kind of loud, kind of slow—but with a three-row interior full of 88.8 cubic-feet of cargo space. The seats are somewhat uncomfortable, and there’s no love to be found when your behind is falling asleep as you drain the 23-gallon tank on another neighborhood hill.

I did have to squash the urge to steer off the street and drive as the crow flies. But if you succumb to those desires, you can use the Multi-Terrain Select knob to optimize the engine and traction settings for various environments, the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System changes—you guessed it— the suspension, and the part-time four-wheel drive provides Active Traction Control.

Safety ratings aren’t especially great either, with the car earning an overall score of four stars—four stars for driver and three for passenger in frontal crashes; five stars for front and rear in side crashes; and three stars in a rollover.

Pathfinder

 

2016 Nissan Pathfinder. Courtesy of Nissan

Seeing the 2016 Nissan Pathfinder for the first time, I thought … boring. There’s little to love about its stylings; however, Nissan focuses on its inside and execution.

The Pathfinder’s interior is downright restrained, but with a pleasing vein of luxury running through it—from the expected leather, a 7-inch entertainment console, and automatic everything. The push-button start is a great feature, while the 4-inch informational screen behind the steering wheel offers a nice array of visualizations for gas mileage, car performance, audio and the like.

Kelley Blue Book named the 7-passenger Pathfinder one of the 16 Best Family Cars of 2016. On the road, it steers like a car and feels like a mini-van. Although there’s a depressing sogginess to the accelerator’s response time, the ride is quiet, smooth and gentle, brought about by a combination of independent strut suspension up front and multi-link in the rear, and the Continuous Valve Timing Control System.

The Pathfinder does lose almost 10 cubic feet of cargo capacity to the 4Runner, coming in at 79.8 cu. ft., but out delivers a combined fuel economy of 22 miles per gallon from its 19.5-gallon tank, and also offers better safety ratings than the 4Runner: A five star rating overall, with four stars on the driver side and five on the passenger for frontal crashes; five stars for front and rear in side crashes; and four stars in rollover.

Ultimately, I loved neither car perfectly. The 4Runner is a bull trapped in a china-closet world, while the Pathfinder looks boring and is a conventional driver. On the other hand, the 4Runner would tear through a field in no time flat; while the Pathfinder would roll everybody to church in comfort. But with the differences in mind, including price tag—where the Pathfinder was some $3,000 less—it’s Nissan for the win.

AAA Connection

AAA Colorado AutoSource arranged for the test vehicles used in this review, and it can arrange test drives for you, at the location of your choice. Call 877-244-9790, or visit AAA.com, and experience concierge service like nowhere else.